HOUSTON, July 29 (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N)
is continuing to buy acreage in the Utica Shale, a basin that
the company expects to drive production growth of oil and
liquids-rich natural gas, the company's chief executive said on
Friday.

Investors had eagerly anticipated details on Chesapeake's
activity in the Utica and the company's shares were up just
over 4 percent in afternoon trade.

Chesapeake, the second largest U.S. producer of natural
gas, said on Wednesday it had acquired 1.2 million acres in the
eastern Ohio shale prospect at a cost of $2 billion and is
looking for ways to wring value from its position there.
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Citing competitive reasons, McClendon declined on the call
to provide details about Utica production or reserve estimates.
The company pegged the value of its Utica position at $15
billion to $20 billion.

Analysts at Houston-based investment bank Tudor Pickering
Holt & Co said the Utica was "potentially the big kahuna" for
Chesapeake, but said investors would like more details.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N), which acquired 600,000 Utica acres
through its $3.2 billion purchase of Atlas Energy, said on its
earnings call on Friday that there are still many unknowns
about the basin.

George Kirkland, Chevron's vice president told analysts
that it was a "little bit too soon to conclude on the potential
of the Utica," adding that Chevron needed to drill wells to
evaluate the basin's potential.

Chesapeake has also amassed more than 1 million acres in a
basin called the Mississippi lime in Oklahoma. The company is
planning a joint venture for the Mississippi lime that is
expected in the first half of next year, McClendon told
analysts.

Shares of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Chesapeake rose
$1.37 to $34.80 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading,
outperforming the ARCA index of natural gas companies .XNG
that was down 0.4 percent.
(Reporting by Anna Driver; Additional reporting by Braden
Reddall in San Francisco, editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Dave
Zimmerman and Tim Dobbyn)